Anode-connector.



1. H. anus.

A NODE CONNECTOR. 7 APPLICATION FiLED OCT- 15, 19.11;

, fli 5 267353. mm May 28, 1918 TED srn'rs FATE 'JULIUS H. GILLIS, or TORONTO, ONTARIO, CA'NAVDAY, AssIGnoia To BBITISEMBIQA: NICKEL CORPORATION LIMITED, or TORONTO, ONTARIO, CKNADA/A CORPORATION" OF CANADA.

Amour-CONNECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May as, 1918.;

Application filed Getooer 15, 1917. Seriai fie. 1963550;

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULrUs Hownnns Gums, a citizen of the United States, residing at .Toronto, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Anode-Connectors, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved connecting devicefor anodes, the same being particularly useful in conjunction with the electrolytic refining of metals or alloys.

v ln such processes the anodes, consisting of heavy plates of the impurem'etal to be refined, are commonly suspended in the electrolyte by means of integral upwardly extending cast lugs or ears which rest upon the'sides of the tank, at which pointvthe electrical contact is made: or at times the integral lugs-project only slightly above the liquid, connections for suspending the anode and making ele'ctricalcontact therewithbeing made to these short lugs in various ways. (ages that the lugs represent a material proportion of undissolved scrap or waste requiring re-inelting; that breakage of the lugs is frequent owing to the low and variable tensile strength of the impure metal; and that anodes having such lugs arediffi cult to cast and handle. I

It has not heretofore proven practical to make the connection to the anode below the solution line,-because the hangers, functioning' also as connectors, have a strong tend' ency to be dissolved and destroyed, this tendenc being especially marked in those parts 0 the hanger which project nearer to the cathode than the main anode surface.

- posite any projecting portions of the hanger,

quickly forming short-circuits.

I have discovered thatby constructing the anode connectors of aluminum most or all of the ,difiiculties above enumerated may be avoided. I userthese aluminum connectors in elect-rolytes,.:for example sulfate or sulfuric acid or other appropriate solutions, capable of forming by anode action a pree ideally nonrenductive surfacefilm upon the Such methods possess the disadvanaluminum, or of conserving such a film after :its formation. The invention therefore based on the known fact that astiminam, when made the anodein a "suitable 'electro lyte, has the peculiar propertynpfprotect itself-with a thincoating' of hydrate, basic; sulfate, phosphate or: other compound, ac?" cording to the electrolyte used, this,- deposit not only preventing furthersolutioii' 6f the metal, but alsoinsulating the metal from the solution and thereby preventingjhe'flow of the electric current from the connector or hanger to the adjacent portions of the cathode. 1

It will be readily understood from the foregoing that my invention is notrestricted toany particular form or shape of anode connector or hanger, sinceqthe principle, in-

volved n my be appliedadvantageously in other metal or alloy to be refined, said an- I ode cast with lateral ears 3,'3,-and being wholly submerged beneath the solution level indicated at 4. The anode connector, which may be an integral aluminum casting, comprises a bar 5 contacting with a conductor 6 on the tank wall. and provided with depending supporting lugs 7, 7, each having at its lower end a bifurcated hook 8 adapted to engage the ears 3 of the anode. It has been found in practice that considerable resistance is aptto develop at the surface of contact between the aluminum connector and the anode. Although this re sistance is not suflicient to cause the current to flow directly from the aluminum to the solution, or to render the device practically inoperative, I prefer to overcome .itby casting-into the aluminum. at the areas of contact with the anode, small copper or other appropriate conductive blocks or contact points, for example as indicated atv 9. Thereby. I provide a positive electrical connecfion between the aluminum and the copper contact piece, and permit the copper to make trolyte and refining operation.

Obviously, since the function of the aluminum connector depends upon an enodic surface. action, any anode connector presenting aluminum surfaces to the electrolyte is w 'Yalent, for the purposes of this inventio to the aluminum hangers described neeein. lln form these connectors 'Wlll be varied to suit the service required of them: for. example, aluminum wire or rod baskets may be used for scrap anodes, and like s tructurelmodifications will be made to suit other-special conditions, without departing from my invention. 4 in some cases the aluminum connector may serve also as the/support for theenode; or, especially in the case of heavy or Week anodes, these may be otherwise supported in any suitable Way, as for example by resting on insulating blocks 10. In either case the aluminum functions as the electrical connection for the soluble anode.

1 claim:

1. In combination with a soluble anode and a suitable electrolyte, an anode connector of aluminum.

2. In combination with a soluble anode and a suitable electrolyte, an anode connector of aluminum having secured therein one or more contact pieces of a conductive material other thanalum'num.

3. In combination with a soluble anode and a suitable electrolyte, an anode connector of aluminum having secured therein one or more contact pieces of copper.

in testimony whereof,1 efiix my signature,

JULIUS H. GILLIS.

All 

